


Far Too Young To Die

by somanyfamdomswhy



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fall of Beacon, I suck at tags, One Shot, Sad, Song-Based, Volume 3 AU, pre-existing relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 12:46:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14915639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somanyfamdomswhy/pseuds/somanyfamdomswhy
Summary: Based on the song Far Too Young To Die by Panic! At The Disco.Yang and Mercury had been dating since Mercury arrived at Vale. The two had a relationship that seemed unbreakable. That is, until Mercury can't hide his secret any longer, and has to warn Yang before Beacon falls.





	Far Too Young To Die

Mercury was scared. 

Yes, Mercury had done far worse, scarier things in his past, but now he was scared. He actually had someone he cared about someone involved this time- He actually cared about someone this time.

He knew that starting a relationship while working for Cinder was risky. Well, him starting a relationship with anyone was risky in general. But when he met Yang, he was drawn to her positive, sarcastic personality. The two hadn't known each other for very long-only since he had arrived at Beacon, but they grew close quickly. His "co-worker" and friend Emerald had warned him about this, especially with their plan coming into fruition. Mercury never listened, but he knew she was right. Rather, he wanted to ignore the fact that they were in Vale for one reason and one reason only. He wanted to ignore the fact that he had to lie to the one person he began to grow and trust. Then get her kicked out of the Vytal Festival. Of course, Mercury kept up the facade of his "I don't care about anything or anyone" personality. But on the inside? It was tearing him apart. He knew he wanted to survive, and to survive, he thought it to be best to stay on Cinder's side- on Salem's side. The thing is, he also wanted Yang to survive, he just knew she would never leave her sister- and he knew her sister would never join Salem. 

Mercury knew time was running out.

All that filled Mercury's mind at that time was Yang's look of utter betrayal she would soon have on her face. He could only think about the hurt he would bring her. He could only think about her never wanting to speak to him again. He could only think about her safety. He knew she could handle herself, but that didn't stop the thoughts from entering his mind. He didn't want anything to happen to her while Cinder's plans came into fruition- he felt like he was left with no choice.

This led him to make this current, stupid choice.

Yang felt distraught. 

She had no idea why she did what she did to Mercury at the Vytal Festival. She had no idea WHY she did what she did at the Vytal Festival. She had no ill feelings toward him- in fact, it was the opposite. She was quite attracted to the student from Haven Academy. Some (like Weiss) would even say she's in love, but she would never admit it. She definitely liked Mercury and enjoyed his company. This made everything immensely more confusing for Yang. She'd never do such a thing. Right? She wasn't a violent person toward those she liked. Aggressive, maybe. But not violent, especially for someone she felt a connection to- like Mercury. She couldn't explain it, maybe it was how he and she shared the same sense of humor (except when it came to puns, he hated her puns). Maybe it was the fact that he had his own, odd charm about him, but she was drawn to the boy with silver hair, and couldn't deny that fact.

Yang heard a knock at her door.

She didn't really want to answer. It was probably Ironwood trying to get more out of her about the Mercury situation, or even a member of her team or her Uncle Qrow trying to make her feel better. Either way, she didn't want to hear any of it. However, something inside her pushed for her to open the door. A bit of excitement, maybe? No, that wasn't it. This unexplainable urge led her to open it, seeing her boyfriend dressed in grey, standing completely normally, even after what happened after their battle.

"Merc, your le-"

Before Yang could even get a sentence out, she felt Mercury's lips and body crash against hers. At first, she was shocked, due to the kiss catching her completely off guard. But then, she fell into it. She put her hands in his hair as the two continued to kiss each other in the small dorm room. Mercury gently pushed her to where her back was against the back of her and Blake's make-shift bunk beds. Part of her was elated- she was happy that Mercury was okay and that he was right here, healthy and walking. Another part of her was filled with confusion- why was he here? How did he heal so quickly? Was he even hurt at all? With these thoughts racing through her mind, Yang pulls away.

"Well... I never really thought you'd come here tonight," Yang tells Mercury, not truly knowing how to put her thoughts into words.

"Well, uhm... yeah," Mercury replies, not really knowing how to start this conversation.

"So, uhm... your legs... What happened?" Yang asks.

Mercury sighs, "I... I actually can't tell you, Yang."

"You can't tell me?" She asks, crossing her arms.

Mercury steps closer to her, placing his hands right above her elbows, "Yang... I'm not who you think I am."

Yang pulls away, not satisfied with the answers she's giving him, "What, are you gonna tell me you're a vampire now and that we can't be together, Mercury? Don't give me that made up bull. Cut to the chase." Yangs eyes begin to turn a fiery shade of red. 

"No, Yang. It isn't that," he could tell that she was growing angrier and angrier, "I need you to make me a promise."

Yang cools down slightly, "What?"

"I need you to make me a promise," he states again, trying put on his mask of emotionlessness. 

"I think I deserve a few answers first, Mercury. Then I'll hear what you have to say."

Mercury sighs, knowing the beautiful girl in front of him is persistent, "I'll tell you what I can."

Yang takes a seat on Blake's bed, offering Mercury to sit down next to her.

"Are you okay?" is the first question to escape Yang's mouth.

"What?" Mercury asks, perplexed.

"Answer the question, Merc."

His heart is broken and touched, knowing she cares for him, "Physically, I'm fine. Emotionally? I'm a wreck."

Yang's eyes fade back into their lilac shade, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I can't," Mercury replies.

"Right..." Yang sighs, "Did I.. Hurt you? I mean-"

"No," Mercury interjects Yang, "My legs... they're fine."

"How?" She asks.

Mercury takes a deep breath in and reaches down to the end of his pant legs. He pulls them up to reveal metal, robotic legs.

Yang's eyes grow wide, leaving her speechless, "How... What happened?"

"Let's just say my dad would've never been a contender for Father of the Year," Mercury states, pulling his pant legs down.

"Neither would my Mom," Yang mumbles, to where Mercury can just barely hear. He doesn't ask any questions since Yang doesn't push further on the leg matter.

A silence lingers in the air for a bit between the two. 

"Why did you come here tonight?" Yang asks, "It obviously wasn't just for show and tell," she gestures do his legs.

"A lot of reasons," Pain fills Mercury's eyes.

"Like?" Yang asks.

"Well, I still want you to make that promise."

"What is it?"

Mercury takes a deep breath. Still sitting on the bed, he faces Yang and holds each of her hands, "Yang... I want you, just for a day, 24 hours, to not be the hero."

"What?" Yang asks, confused.

Mercury stands, letting go of Yang's hands and faces her, "You know how ever since we've met, there's stuff I said you couldn't know about me? I told me you'd just have to trust me, and not to question it."

"Yeah," Yang answers weakly.

"Well, for those reasons, and I know you don't know them, but because of what they are... I'm asking you to promise me that you won't try to be the hero. Don't try and put yourself in harm's way. Try protecting yourself, for once."

"Mercury, I'm a huntress in training. You're a huntsman in training. You know I can't do that," Yang stands up and meets Mercury at eye level, standing close to him.

"I knew you'd say that," he sighs, and looks down.

"Hey," Yang lifts his head back up to face her, "I know you say you can't, but you can talk to me about anything, Merc."

Mercury places a small, gentle kiss on Yang's lips. Pulling away, he tells her, "No, I can't. You... You can't know. You can't fathom the things I've done, the people I've hurt, everything I've destroyed. You're too good for me, Yang. I know this sounds like one of those cringy romance novels that Blake reads, but this... this is the truth. You're...We're far too young to die."

After a small silence, Yang crashes her lips against Mercury's. She doesn't care about anything he just said, he doesn't care about the consequences afterward. The two, at that moment, they were with each other. Holding each other in their arms just felt right. It felt as if they were supposed to be there, with each other. They could've just stayed there for the rest of eternity- noting bothering them, nothing stopping them. Sadly, that wasn't the case.

"This is not a tragedy," Mercury and Yang heard a female's voice boom over the CCT Towers. The voice continued to boom, Yang made her way to the window to listen in more closely. She saw her poor, innocent friend Penny, dismembered and dismantled, leaving Yang to gasp.

Mercury knew it was over. He wanted to stay, he wanted to protect Yang, he wanted to work with Yang, the side didn't matter. Mercury knew... he had no choice. While Yang faced outside the window, a tear escaping his eye. Mercury moved toward the door. Slowly, he made his way out. 

Then, he ran. 

He ran with the group of people trying to escape, rather, he ran against them. He went to meet up with his boss, at the location she had said. His heart had never hurt this badly, his body never hurt so much. So while he still could, being disguised by the crowd around him, Mercury wept, not wanting to leave Yang behind.

Yang turned around, "Mercury, we've got to-" she saw that she was speaking to an absence- a void. Something told Yang that something wasn't right with Mercury. She just knew he didn't leave to fight. Her body felt like ice, her heart dropped to her feet. She knew she needed to look for her team and her sister, but at that moment she just let the shock sink in. Chaos was beginning all around her, and she knew it wouldn't stop any time soon. But all she could focus on were the word Mercury said tonight. Danger was coming- he had come to warn her. It hit her that he wasn't becoming a huntsman, he wasn't fighting for the good of the people, he might not have even been enrolled in an academy. He was part of this chaos, he played some part in this... but he came to warn her. She pulled herself together, growing determined, she was hurt by what Mercury had done, but she knew he cared. She knew he wasn't completely evil.

"Like you said, Merc," she says, more to herself than actually to Mercury. She loads Ember Celica, "We're far too young to die."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I wrote this to try and get back into writing this pair that I adore so much. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue writing my fanfiction for them :) -megs


End file.
